There's Video of Christian Terrorists Praying to God Inside the U.S. Capitol

[hurl]

From Hemant Mehta at Friendly Atheist:

One of the best videos we have of what took place inside the U.S. Capitol last week comes from the New Yorker‘s Luke Mogelson, who spent much of the year reporting on the right-wing extremism and got a front-row seat to the insurrection. His story about the riot is a must-read.
...
In the midst of their rioting, while trying to take over the Capitol, the “QAnon Shaman” helped the mob thank Jesus for what they were doing.
...(full prayer at link)
These aren’t just terrorists. They’re Christian terrorists. The prayer they recited was one that wouldn’t be out of place at evangelical churches across the country.

I know this comparison isn’t new, but if Muslims invaded the Capitol and said a prayer in the name of their God, we know exactly what Christians would say about it, and we know exactly how right-wing media would cover it.

More at link:
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/01/17/theres-video-of-christian-terrorists-praying-to-god-inside-the-u-s-capitol/

[lisa58]

1. This sickens me - but all crusades are done in God's name

It just indicates how they will never listen to reason

[RKP5637]

2. Religion often brings out the worst in mankind ... a very long history. n/t

[keithbvadu2]

3. A shaman prays 'in Christ's holy name'?

A shaman prays 'in Christ's holy name'?

[badboy67]

4. The Nazis reportedly said: "Gott mit uns" (God is with us).

[czarjak]

6. Not to be confused with GOT MITTINS?. Because they did in 2012.

[wnylib]

8. Yes, they did. And thousands

of religious Germans, led by their clergy (Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic), called Nazism a misplaced worship of a man and his vile ideology. They founded underground groups to oppose Hitler. Some of them died in concentration camps for rescuing Hitler's intended victims and for teaching their followers to oppose him.

Go figure.

The KKK considers itself to be a Christian organization, too. So do several other terrorist groups in the US, like the Phineas Priests. And yet, there are thousands of churches in the US that preach against the activities of those groups and have created organizations to oppose them and assist their victims.

I am quite sure that you would not find our very openly Catholic Christian president promoting terrorism. I am absolutely certain that you would not find Georgia's Christian Senator, Reverend Warnock, supporting the KKK. And the Christian civil rights icon, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., did not promote violence or terrorism in any way, shape, or form, but advocated peaceful, passive resistance in the face of violence against him and his followers.

[czarjak]

5. Theological nitwits are the lowest hanging fruit. Easy Pickings!

[wnylib]

7. Why was this thread posted in

the religion group? Doesn't it belong in the atheist group?

What is the point of the thread? Is it suggesting that we should label all churches as terrorist? Good luck selling that idea about Quakers.

Just a few counterpoint examples. My brother was a hard right, racist, atheist supporter of Trump. So is my ex Marine cousin. If my brother was still alive he would have been cheering the coup. I have searched through the photos of the Capitol attack, expecting to see my cousin's photo there. So, should I label all atheists as terrorists?

Stalin was an atheist. He murdered millions of people in the name of an ideology. Are all atheists mass murderers?

The only point I can see for posting this thread in the religion group is for atheists to engage in religion bashing.

[hurl]

9. Good question

It was posted in the Religion group because religion is not incidental to the story. Religion (not atheism) was a central motivating factor for several of people involved, though certainly not all. Similarly, it was not posted in the Atheist group because we had zero reports of people motivated specifically by atheism who participated or wanted to claim the country in the name of atheism. Of course some of the insurrectionists very likely were atheists like the people you mentioned. Few groups of any size are asshole-free.

The article doesn't by any stretch label all churches as terrorist organizations. I would say it had a couple of points: First, we have an obviously active Christian Nationalist/Dominionist movement in this country, and articles calling this to broader attention can help us keep an eye on these groups. Second was to point out Christian privilege by contrasting how differently this story would have been portrayed had groups of Muslims prayed to Allah during an insurrection.

I am not interested in bashing religion. I AM interested in bashing those who use religion as an excuse to oppose democracy, and this article illustrates that those people are among us.

[wnylib]

10. Yet the source quoted was an atheist

publication. Hard to believe that there was not an anti religion purpose for its publication and its quote here.

A more specific and accurate term for the blend of religion and fascism/terrorism on the right is "fundamentalism" or the "relious right." It's a better term, too, than "evangelicals." Same is true of the terrorists who are Muslim. Much more accurate to use a specific term like "jihadist" or better yet, "fundamentalist Muslims" since modern Muslims who are not fundies regard jihad as meaning a personal spiritual struggle, not a physical attack on others.

After all, as Dems, we know that there are Christians who are not fascists or terrorists. I do not fear that President Biden's openness about his Catholic Christian faith will lead him to incite a mob to attack anyone. I do not fear that he will push to make contraception or abortion illegal, either, because he recognizes the rights of others outside of his denomination and rights of those with no religion. Quite a few Catholics depart from church doctrine on contraception and abortion anyway.

I do not fear that the Senator from Georgia, Reverend Warnock, is a dominionist.

The one who incited the insurrection is not a religious person at all, despite his phony posturing with a Bible in front of a church.

So, when addressing the very real dangers of religious fascism, why not address that in specific terms rather than in generic, broad sweeping ones? Opposition to religious fascism is one area that both atheists and a large number of religious people can agree with.

[hurl]

11. It did exactly what you call for

The article focused very narrowly and specifically on dominionist, evangelical Christianity, to the exclusion of literally everyone else.

[Dorian Gray]

13. Reading this.....

and thinking hard about this... I disagree vehemently that it belongs in the athiesm group.

I am a practicing Roman Catholic and I've been looking on in horror as Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism are both becoming radicalized. There are many religion reporters who cover left wing politics who also cover this movement, and Q beliefs are deeply entrenched in those communities now, even if they would never say that they follow Q.

It's problematic and something that is being ignored by religious leaders. I speak specifically to the Roman Catholic World, as I am active in it. I've written to my bishops (DiMarzio and Archbishop/Cardinal Dolan) to address this, but I think they don't want to see that it is a problem that is invading the US Bishops Council.

What happened in the Capitol was White Nationalistic Christianty Prayer. It was horrifying and (in my mind) demonic. And we need to wrestle with it. Because those people exist doesn't mean that Christianity is evil. But what happened on 01/06 was evil. and wrong and we should condemn it. Those prayers were sick.

[Act_of_Reparation]

12. The Religion forum is for discussing religion.

The topic of this thread is religion. I'm sorry you don't like it, but it most certainly belongs here.